| Sammanfattning: | <p>This thesis draws on the current literature on need and demand to provide some empirical evidence of the cost, effectiveness and implied values associated with current and alternative forms of provision of ante-natal care in the St. Pau's Hospital, Barcelona.</p>
<p>The study is set against the background of a review of the relevant methodology and concepts concerning, particularly, the nature of the goods ‘health'’ and ‘health care’. This serves as a base for investigating the concepts of demand, need and the agency relationship.</p>
<p>Given the importance of cost-effectiveness analysis in the applied study, a review is presented of the evaluative role of economics in healthcare. A full description of ante-natal care generally and that specific to this study are presented and the important notion of ‘risk’ is highlighted. The way in which need has been defined and the general setting of the empirical study are outlined, together with the design,nature and use of the data in the surveys conducted.</p>
<p>The findings of the study are presented together with the difficulties arising in interpretation but the results appear sufficiently clear-cut to allow confidence to be expressed in the main policy recommendations outlined,i.e. in terms of efficiency, to increase ante-natal visiting of infrequent attenders, particularly those at high risk, even if this has to be done at the expense of frequent attenders, particularly those at low risk.</p>
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